Tripod: Messages from the Staff

<body bgcolor="#CCFFFF" link="#FF0000" vlink="#990000" text="#000000" background="../../../tripod/letters/img/www_subdomain/bg.gif"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="TOP" align="CENTER" width="178">  <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="170"> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/logo-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/logo.gif" alt="Tripod Map" border="0" height="58" width="170" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/universal2-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/universal2.gif" alt="Member Services Map" width="170" height="59" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr><tr><td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="170" bgcolor="#999966"> <img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/tripod_zones.gif" alt="tripod zones" width="81" height="17" border="0"></td> </tr><tr> <form 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<option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pages.ebay.com/antiques/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Antiques <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pages.ebay.com/books/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Books, <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pages.ebay.com/books/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">-Magazines <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pages.ebay.com/collectibles/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Collectibles <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://coins.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Coins <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://computers.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Computers <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://dolls.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Dolls, Figures <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://jewelry.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Jewelry <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pottery.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Pottery <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pages.ebay.com/sportsmem/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Sports <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pages.ebay.com/sportsmem/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">-Memorabilia <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://stamps.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Stamps <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://toys.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Toys <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://tradingcards.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Trading <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://tradingcards.ebay.com/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">-Cards <option value="partner=TRIPOD&loc=http://pages.ebay.com/aw/%3FTRIPODSPONSOR">Misc. </select></td> </tr> <tr valign="TOP"><td align="center" valign="TOP" width="120"><font size="-1"> <center><a href="/" target="main">Over 350,000 items</a></center> </font></td> </tr> </table> </form> </center> </td> <td valign="TOP" width="100%"> <basefont size="3"> <p> <img src="../../../tripod/letters/img/www_subdomain/letter.top.gif" alt="from tripod..with love.." width="401" height="124" border="0"> <br> <center> </center> <br> <br> <p> <blockquote> <b>From Hank Zill, Assistant System Administrator:</b> <p> <b>Surviving Winter: A Floridian's Perspective</b><p> As it gets on toward the colder months, I often times find myself wondering just what the hell I'm doing in New England. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten a job in a warmer state. There are plenty of tech jobs in California, or Texas, or anywhere else south of here. But here I am, in a location where you get to read about people being pulled out of flaming cars after having skidded off of icy roads. Why? Because Tripod is a great place to work, and most of my friends are in the area (and work at Tripod or go to Williams College next door). And if you actually prepare for winter it's not so bad. So for people in my situation, here are a few words of advice.<p> <p> First off, don't pretend it's not cold. Being from Florida, I came to New England pretty unprepared for a cold winter. Florida jackets just don't cut it here. But I spent most of my college days (at Williams) rushing across campus to get from one heated building to the next. It wasn't until my senior year at Williams, right before I came to Tripod, that I finally wised up and bought a heavier jacket. Now I can actually go outside without fear of frostbite.<p> OK, so you can go outside, so what, right? I mean it's not like you can play soccer or baseball or anything (well, I guess you could, but I wouldn't recommend it). So the next step in surviving winter is to learn a winter sport. Not only does it give you something to do, but it will help keep you warm inside those new winter clothes you just bought. For the low-impact folks out there, you might try cross country skiing or snowshoeing. But if you're the adventurous type, I highly recommend snowboarding. Sure, it's a total GenX cliché, but hey, we're a GenX site, aren't we?<p> Now that you're warm and active, you're probably thinking, "How do I get to the slopes? I'm from Florida, my car sucks in the snow." Or at least that's what I'm thinking. After driving a rear-wheel drive, light as a feather, nifty red sports car around here for a few winters I can tell you that it's not a fun thing. Sure it's great on twisty mountain roads during the summer, but it snows seven months out of the year, and you don't want to end up being the guy pulled out of the burning car that slips off the icy road, do you? So make sure you get a nice front- or four-wheel drive vehicle, and snow tires if at all possible. Sure they sound funny on the road, but at least you'll be on the road, not in a snowbank.<p> Once you get yourself prepared winter should be much more bearable. Pretty soon you'll be wishing it would snow just so you can go skiing or snowboarding or whatever other activity you've thought of to take advantage of the fact that New England has mountains and snow while all Florida has are old people and beaches with waves you can't surf on.<p> See you on the slopes.<p> <ul> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/tripod/staff/tech-html/anchor_hank.html">Hank</a>, Assistant System Administrator (12/12/97) </ul> <p> <center> <hr width="330"> <p> Read more "Letters from Tripod" in the <a href="../../../www_subdomain/tripod/letters/archive.html">archive</a>. </center> <br> </blockquote> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body>